CONTE: MY PLAYERS NEED REST

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club’s board on several occasions over the summer, voicing his frustration at their difficulties landing his top targets.

Chelsea lost striker Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United and failed to prise left-back Alex Sandro from Juventus.

They were also priced out of moves for Kyle Walker and Danilo, both of whom ultimately joined Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Tottenham back-up striker Fernando Llorente this week revealed he would have joined Chelsea instead, had the Blues not dragged their heels over signing him.

And Conte added: “The problem is we are playing always the same players.

“And also we have players in our team who are not used to playing three games in a week.

“For Kante (above), it’s the first time. For Moses, the first time. For Morata, it’s the first time to play regularly for his team.

“For Marcos Alonso, it’s the same. When you have a lot of games, you need to rotate players. If this is not possible, I have to take risks.

“Then, for example, against Manchester City, Morata was injured after 20 minutes.

“But if I hadn’t put Morata in the starting XI, you’d have told me I’m crazy. But sometimes the players need to rest instead.”

Chelsea are currently top of Champions League Group C, two points clear of Roma, after taking maximum points from their two games so far.

The Blues play host to Watford in the Premier League on Saturday.